Black Hills State men's basketball will play two this weekend as they host UC Colorado Springs on Friday and Colorado Christian on Sunday.
The Yellow Jackets will tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12 against the Mountain Lions and then at 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14 against the Cougars.
Through nine games this season, Black Hills State men's basketball is 4-5 overall and in the RMAC, with wins against Westminster, Regis, Western Colorado and UCCS. Two of the team's losses came at the hands of the top two teams in the conference, Colorado Mesa and Colorado Mines, and both being decided by five points or fewer.
BHSU finished last season with a 20-9 record, and 17-5 in conference to tie with Dixie State for a regular season championship. During the season, they strung together a 13-game winning streak, including key wins against Colorado Mesa, Colorado Mines, UC Colorado Springs and New Mexico Highlands.
BHSU (4-5, 4-5 RMAC) vs. UCCS (6-6, 6-6)
UCCS is currently 6-6 on the season but has won two of its last three games. They have been the best in the RMAC this season at defending the 3-pointer, allowing only 27.5 percent, although they also rank 10th in the conference at shooting beyond the arc (33.8).
UCCS also leads the RMAC in free throw percentage, making 81.1 percent from the line and in defensive rebounds at 378 on the year. They rank first in offensive rebounds with 500 on the year and 38.5 per game.
MOUNTAIN LIONS' LAST TIME OUT
Six University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's basketball players scored at least 11 points Monday night at Adams State University in a makeup game as the Mountain Lions bounced back into the win column with a 92-80 win. Tonight's win avenged a loss by the Grizzlies in the season opening contest on Dec. 5 (L, 78-85).
The Mountain Lions used a very solid shooting performance in the first half to build a 48-40 halftime lead. UCCS netted 19-of-31 from the floor (61.3 percent) and 9-of-16 from three-point range (56.3 percent) in the first 20 minutes of action.
UCCS jumped to an eight-point lead in the first six minutes of the game but the Grizzlies came back to snag their first lead of the game, 19-18, at the 11-minute mark.
Trailing by one, 38-37, with just under three minutes to play in the first half, Wyatt Dolberry sparked an 11-2 run for UCCS to close out the half. Dolberry netted the first five points of the run with a layup and a three-pointer while Alijah Comithier finished the half making a layup and trey.
Adams State scored the first bucket of the second before Bobby Martin propelled UCCS on a 12-4 run as the Mountain Lions took a 14-point lead early in the second half, 60-46. Martin scored 10 of the 12 points during the run, including the first eight points.
UCCS closed the game mirroring their strong start in the second half. The Mountain Lions scored 11 of the final 14 points in the game to seal the win, 92-80.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. UCCS (Feb. 1, 2021)
Black Hills State men's basketball defeated UC Colorado Springs with a game-winning shot from
Joel Scott as the clock expired to win 73-71 Monday night.
In a game that saw 8 ties, the Yellow Jackets led for over 30 minutes including when it counted most and shot over 50 percent (50.9) for the sixth time this season.
Scott and
Adam Moussa tied for the team lead with 19 points, making 8-of-10 and 7-of-15 from the field, respectively.
Sindou Cisse grabbed a team-leading eight boards and added two assists and a steal. Scott grabbed two steals and three rebounds.
BHSU got out to an early 5-0 lead in the game with a
Snjolfur Stefansson three and a pair of free throws by Cisse. UCCS would keep close, pulling even at 14-14 with a Jezza McKenzie three, and then again at 21-all with a layup midway through the first half.
The game remained neck-and-neck until a trey from Moussa gave the team some separation with its largest lead of the half (38-28) at 2:03. Both teams sank a three in the closing seconds of the period and the Yellow Jackets went into the locker room with a 43-36 advantage.
Out of the half, the Yellow Jackets would lead by as much as 12 points on a Moussa steal and score to go up 53-41. From there, UCCS would inch back and once again pull even before taking its first lead of the game at 62-59 with a 3-pointer at 7:10.
The Mountain Lions held the lead until a Whitley three locked the game back up at 66-66 with 3:36 left. Shortly after, tied at 69-all in the final minute of play, a Cisse layup put the Yellow Jackets up 71-69, but UCCS answered with a pair of free throws to bring the game to its eighth tie.
UCCS had the ball with 0.5 seconds left, but the team's in-bound was thrown out of bounds, giving the Yellow Jackets the ball under their own net. BHSU took advantage of the opportunity as Moussa in-bounded the ball directly to Scott under the basket who lobbed it in for the win.
BHSU (4-5, 4-5 RMAC) vs. CCU (1-10, 1-10)
The Cougars are currently last in the RMAC standings at 1-10. The team's lone win came against Fort Lewis on Dec. 12 but have since dropped their last seven straight.
CCU leads the conference in 3-point shooting at 41.6 percent and live and die from beyond the arc, leading far and away with 365 3-point attempts this season with WCU holding the next most attempts at 284. CCU's offense ranks middle of the pack in the RMAC with 73.4 points per game, its defense has given up 81.9 per game.
COUGARS' LAST TIME OUT
The phases of the moon nearly did a complete cycle since the last time Colorado Christian played a men's basketball game. If you are a fan of offense and intensity, it was worth the 24 day wait.
MSU Denver did just enough in the second half to grab a 76-74 victory against Colorado Christian in a hard-fought contest.
Despite the layoff the Cougars shooting was on target in the early stages. They built a 19-15 lead just past the halfway point of the opening stanza. During those 10-plus minutes they made five of their 12 three-point attempts; led by DJ McDonald's 10 points.
The Colorado Christian tenacity was on full display over the next few minutes as they forced MSU Denver turnovers as they built their lead to 31-22 with just under six minutes left in the period. However, the final stages of the opening 20 minutes swung in the Roadrunners favor as they outscored Colorado Christian 24-12 as they took a three-point lead (46-43) into the locker room.
The visitors continued to nudge ahead as MSU Denver built their lead to 61-53 with just under 12 minutes left in the contest. However, the persistent Cougars battled back and took a 70-67 lead with 6:03 left in the contest.
Heading into the final four minutes the scoreboard had a pair of 70s. Both teams' offense hit a significant roadblock as neither team found the bottom of the net until the Roadrunners took the lead for good on a Laolu Oke lay-up with 2:17 left. Despite having possessions to take the lead or tie the score the Cougars couldn't get back in front. The only field goal the Cougars hit in the last seven minutes was an Andy Stafford three-pointer at buzzer.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. CCU (Jan. 10, 2020)
The Black Hills State University men's basketball team defeated the Colorado Christian University Cougars 82-67 Friday night. The Yellow Jackets move to 9-5 on the season and 6-2 in the RMAC.
The first half was a turbulent back and forth battle that saw five lead changes and a tied game at three different points. The Yellow Jackets were able to edge CCU heading into half 32-29 with a good three pointer by
Trey Whitley. The Cougars defense flopped the second half allowing the Jackets to hit 69 percent of their shots from the field and breeze to an 82-67 victory.
The team had a strong shooting percentage overall from the field, making 55 percent of their baskets and were good for 67 percent of their free throw attempts. The Green and Gold were conservative from beyond the arc, only attempting 11 three pointers and making five.
Tyler Oliver was the high point scorer for the Yellow Jackets with 22 points. He was good for 70 percent from the field and made 7 of 11 free throws. Whitley and
Joel Scott were also in double digits with 15 and 10 points respectively. Both were good for four of seven from the field.
Antonio Capley continues to be a play maker as he pulled down 11 boards, nine of them defensive.
COACHES
In his third season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets,
Ryan Thompson boasts a 42-25 record over his time at the helm. He was named RMAC Coach of the Year last season after a 20-9 record and a regular season championship (tied with Dixie State).
Jeff Culver is in his ninth season as head coach of the UCCS men's basketball team. He led the team to its first RMAC Championship in 2015.
Cougars head coach Liam Simmons is in his first season leading the program.
ABOUT BLACK HILLS STATE
Before jumping to Division II, the Yellow Jackets had a lot of history at the NAIA level in the DAC, winning 14 conference championships. Since becoming a DII institution, BHSU has been improving, and has started to hit their stride over the last few years, last season taking a share as regular season conference champions with a 20-9 record. This year they look to take another step further under third-year head coach
Ryan Thompson.
ABOUT UC COLORADO SPRINGS
Black Hills State is 9-10 against UCCS, and have won three of their last four meetings with the Yellow Jackets last defeating them on a
Joel Scott buzzer beater on Feb. 1 of this season. BHSU won the first four meetings between the two teams starting with an 87-76 win on Nov. 21, 2009 before losing then next five in a row. Since then, the Yellow Jackets are 5-4 over their last nine matchups.
ABOUT COLORADO CHRISTIAN
As a program, Black Hills State is 4-9 against Colorado Christian, but have won two of the last three meetings between them. The two teams first played Dec. 7, 2012 in which the Yellow Jackets won 72-68. BHSU won only one of their next nine games between each other before netting wins on Feb. 10, 2018 and Jan. 10, 2020.
A FRIDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Improve the Yellow Jackets to 5-5 on the season with 7 games left to play before the RMAC Tournament March 2-6. With the uncertainty of games played, teams must compete in at least 11 regularly scheduled games to be eligible for the RMAC Tournament.
A FRIDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Move the Yellow Jackets to 4-6 on the season. Goin into Friday's game, the men sit in 10th in the RMAC standings, meaning a loss would make the path to earning a top-8 seed berth into the RMAC Tournament a bit tougher.
SHARP SHOOTING
The Yellow Jackets currently rank second in RMAC and rank fifteenth nationally at the Division II level in shooting with a field goal percentage of 50.5% (257-509) over their nine games this season. The team is also fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 75.9 points per game.
PRESEASON POLL
Black Hills State men's basketball tallied two first-place votes and was picked second in the 2020-21 RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll, released Tuesday afternoon.
The poll is voted on by all 15 head men's basketball coaches in the RMAC.
BHSU is coming off a shared 2019-20 RMAC regular season title with a conference record of 17-5. Head coach
Ryan Thompson led his team to a 20-9 overall record last year and will enter the 2020-21 season with a 38-20 record compiled over his first two seasons.
Conference Accolades
Last season, head coach
Ryan Thompson and now sophomore
Joel Scott were honored by the RMAC for standout 2019-20 seasons. Thompson was named 2019-20 RMAC Coach of the Year while Scott earned RMAC Freshman of the Year.
Tyler Oliver, a 2019-20 senior, was named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 16.
-BHSUAthletics.com-
